|
Author |
File Description |
Swolte (id: swolte) |
Posted on 02/08/03 @ 09:48 AM (updated 04/11/03)
File Details |
Ruleset: |
AoW2: TWT - TS Standard Rules |
Map Size: |
L |
Levels: |
2 |
Single Player?: |
Yes |
Co-Op vs. AI?: |
Yes |
PBEM/Hotseat?: |
Yes |
Multiplayer Online?: |
Yes |
# of Wizards: |
6 |
# of players: |
5 |
Skill Level: |
Any (depends on AI difficulty setting) |
Password Protected: |
No |
Surface Minimap:
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Cavern Minimap:
|
Like stated above, the map is designed as a Co-op map. This means you can play with four friends (to be) against a single challenge. Working and coordinating attacks together is crucial for survival. On your own and against the others, it would be very hard to defeat the shadowGod!
Most fun would be to let a reliable human player play the ShadowGod (doesn't have to be a very good player, perhaps those with the roleplaying skills..).
The map was a lot of work. I learned a lot from my river Arne map and other people and I can say that it has become very pretty and turned out as I hoped it would!
I used a lot of 'map tricks', some of which I've not encountered before (check the Jungle, Goblin capitol and the path of bones, for example). Most of my fun and energy making this map went into the terrain. It has a natural look and I payed a lot of attention to detail and variety. I hope you like it!
I left the story quite simple. So you, as players will have to use your imagination! The story-events that ARE in place are quite crucial, so pay good attention to them.
There are no 'free' heroes. Each player (except the ShadowGod) will start with three heroes. The 'bugged' Call Hero spell is useless.
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These are the available races/wizards:
SHADOWGOD:
Very, very strong starting position. Mostly undead but able to migrate to any evil race due to the.. well you'll see. If played by the computer, set to CPU Emperor.
Expect your turns to last quite a long time and enjoy superior forces and other players fleeing for ye! ;)
DALVIANA:
Preset to CPU Lord as a mediating factor. To take advantage of, or to hopelessly underestimate... Sort of a buffer for the ShadowGod. Plays Dark Elves and Goblins.
KING RODERICK:
The king of the Humans will face a hard time, this is by far the most difficult position. Also, probably the first to go down or the first to grow powerful of the 'good' races. Let's hope the power won't corrupt this player if things might go too well...
Be careful but expect some action soon. Life.
LLANOVAR:
The Elven player has a relatively safe starting position. The forest holds some dangers so be sure to scout ahead. Life.
MERIADOC:
The safest starting position. Halflings, Life.
BOLDIR:
A lot of choices to expand to (digging, surface, caves etc). Don't get too spread up. Dwarves, Fire.
The map can be played with different 'teams', here are some suggestions:
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5 players:
I originally designed the map in a way that if one good player plays the evil ShadowGod, the other four good players should have a hard time beating the God.
6 players:
If you really want a challenge with four good players against two weaker players, you can weaken Dalviana's (set to human player) Dark Elf starting capitol somewhat and play 2 vs 4.
1 player
For a single player would advise choosing one of the good races for a nice challenge.
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(part of story)
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...the ShadowGod has returned and his powers are greater than ever before. Rumors have it he can spawn the Demons from their prison back to the surface.. Time has weakened the Archon forces and the other four race have had little contact. Aberon, the city of Light stands pale between the free lands and the gathering darkness.
Dark clouds gather over the world as the first death knights ride out of the black gate of Dor Valach...
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Oh, one teleporter and no haste berry trees!
Thanks to Magog and JamieJME for the feedback! :)
Feel free to email feedback to swolte1@hotmail.com |
Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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ElvenDefender |
Posted on 02/11/03 @ 04:26 PM
Well, I just think this map is awesome! The terrain itself would be enough for me to download it...and play it...[Edited on 02/11/03 @ 04:26 PM]
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Castanieda |
Posted on 03/07/03 @ 05:54 PM
Playability: 5
played it as the dwarves and just got hooked and couldn´t stop until 5am in the morning. That is all i want to say about the playability:)
will try the other races right away.
Balance: 4
Part of the idea of the map is that it´s not balanced.
Creativity: 5
Amazing! When I first saw the goblin city (rather the assorted goblin cities) I had to shout out a WOW! as I was so amazed about the effect of (no find it for yourself)! Fascinating what one can achieve if creativity and talent is involved.
Map Design: 5
(see above)
Story/Instructions: 5
Additional Comments:
Normally a dedicated Pbem player this is the kind of SP map (and mp and Pbem of course) thát makes me try a sp once in a while. Great job!
|
radon38 |
Posted on 03/09/03 @ 12:16 PM
Playability: 4
Balance: 3
Creativity: 4
Map Design: 3
Story/Instructions: 3
Additional Comments:
A nice map with some very good bits. Especially the jungle at the top. Putting tigrans in swamp was very clever.A fewparts of the land though are a bit bare. However, the dwarf area is dull with just tiles and I dont understand why there is a whole load of ice there. Also, I would have liked to have seen a longer story and also some character discriptions. Still, good work. a nice coop map. |
King David |
Posted on 03/29/03 @ 12:59 AM
Playability: 5
Despite the map maker's claim that this map is designed solely for MP and PBEM, I played it SP as the Dwarves for the Monthly Challenge. I realized after about 40 turns that I had chosen the wrong strategy, but I was enjoying the game so much that I just kept on and forgot about trying to finish it quickly. I highly recommend trying this map as SP. It is great fun, will keep you honest, and I never got bored or frustruated with it. Even defending what came to be very repetetive goblin attacks on my smokestack farm never got old. Great job, great design.
Balance: 4
I'm not sure how to rate this, as the map is purposely unbalanced, and that's the point around which the story revolves. I actually wonder if it would not be too unbalanced in MP, but in SP the unbalance is part of what makes it fun. I learned a lot from this map.
Creativity: 4
While there are not hundreds of scripts in this map, the ones that are there all contribute to the story. There are also areas that might be of interest, but my one critical comment of the map is that I think that most of these areas are either too difficult to get to, or not worth the effort. There are some good weapons and items, but there are also a lot that offset their benefits with negative stats (ex. haste + negative resistance). Consequently, I didn't do much exploring of crypts and other places. Still, this in no way was a drawback to game play as I had my hands full elsewhere. The spacing in this map is great (ie, distances between cities and other strategic areas) and each race's starting area is uniqely designed, identifiable and approachable. Nice touch. One bit of irony remains to be told: This map's author is Swolte, founder of the BTOOIC, whose principals I share entirely. Nonetheless, I found that I had to make use of teleporters for the first time ever, to get around this map and beat the Shadowgod at his own game (he uses them too). LOL.
Map Design: 5
A very nice looking map, lots of effort put into the design. Some of the lava lake may bit a bit mundane, should you even go there (I didn´t), but that's a very minor quibble and I have to give the map a 5 in this regard as the author mixes terrain well and creates some very nice visual effects.
Story/Instructions: 4
The story is not expansive but somehow seems to permeate gameplay at all times. The Shadowgod is ever present! I like this type of story, as it allows for open play without binding the player into a linear pattern.
Additional Comments:
Definately give this map a try as SP (unless you are entirely new to AOW2), though obviously NOT playing the Shadowgod. The Dwarves I found to be a great race to play. Thanks for the map and keep up the good work.
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Goodgulf |
Posted on 05/22/03 @ 02:03 PM
Playability: 5
(Insert Playability analysis here)
Balance: 4
(Insert Balance analysis here)
Creativity: 5
(Insert Creativity analysis here)
Map Design: 5
(Insert Map Design analysis here)
Story/Instructions: 4
(Insert Story/Instructions analysis here)
Additional Comments:
In comparison to all other maps I have downloaded, this map reigns supreme. Fun, challenging and lots of surprises. I really liked the limitation on heroes. Most maps seem to go overboard in this regard with lots of uber heroes with insane items. I also liked that this map was totally original rather than just another Tolkien or fantasy book recreation. Lastly, there was definately some thought put into where battles would develop and what type of effect the terrain would have on the fighting. The tower separating the dwarven realms from the goblin city was the site of much carnage and endless assaults by superior goblin forces. I felt like I was defending Helm's deep. Swolte should be making maps for a living. |
Evil Roc |
Posted on 05/14/04 @ 03:42 PM
Playability: 5
It's great (PBEM only)
Balance: 4
It's hard to balance one against four, but it is as near as possible.
Creativity: 5
There are so many available tactics and approaches...
Map Design: 5
Very good landscape and lots of stuff.
Story/Instructions: 5
Good story, especialy imprisoned demons.
Additional Comments:
My favorite map for PBEM! |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.4 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.8 | Balance | 3.8 | Creativity | 4.6 | Map Design | 4.6 | Story/Instructions | 4.2 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 3,713 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 200.98 KB |
Added: | 02/08/03 |
Updated: | 04/11/03 |
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